Tangled Webs
by unsheltered
Summary: My version of CMH. First GG fanfic.  Cammie isn't fully over Josh. Blackthorne is coming to Gallagher. Abby comes in the picture sooner than expected. Yes, I suck at writing summaries. Read and Review?


**Disclaimed.**

**So, this is my first Gallagher Girls fic. So if it sucks, -shrugs- well then tell me what I need to work on.**

**Just no flames.**

* * *

><p><span>September 3, Sunday<span>

"Guys." I don't think I've ever sounded so serious in my life, and that's pretty damn serious because I'm a spy, and spies have to be pretty darn serious. I caught the attention of my roommates, but I suddenly didn't want to speak anymore; center of attention just isn't really my thing. I guess that's why they call me The Chameleon.

So I just stood there, with my three best friends staring at me. Rebecca Baxter (but you should really call her Bex unless you want to get killed by a handkerchief.), peering at me, just sitting cross-legged on her bed. Macey McHenry (yes, that Macey McHenry – the one that was on the cover of Us Weekly, and the daughter of the Senator), looking up from her Seventeen Magazine. And Liz, well, she was fiddling with a gadget in her hands, glancing at me from the corner of her eyes.

I was pretty sure that I was ghost white because Macey got up and pointed her perfectly manicured nails at me. "Cam, you're really pale. What happened?"

I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out. So I closed it. I mean, who wants to look like a fool? Not me, that's for sure. I knew so much, and I also knew that I had to tell them, but I just didn't know how to explain. "Well, y'see, I-I was just wondering around in the library, a-and … _boys_!"

Liz dropped her device and it clattered to the floor; just like in the movies, all slow motion-like.

Macey looked at me like I was crazy, which, if you didn't know, I totally could've been at that moment, because Gallagher Academy is a school for girls. Hence, the name: Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women. See that? _Women_.

But Bex, being the spy and the bet friend she was, calmly walked over to me, and her caramel-colored eyes bore into mine as she asked, "Cammie, what happened?"

I speed-walked to my bed (which was the one in the corner, if you wanted to know), and they followed me. I closed my eyes, rested my head against the backboard, and spoke. "I was in the library, and I just heard voices; hushed voices. Almost as if they didn't want to be heard. And I don't think I was eavesdropping, okay? I was just … listening to them talk."

They hung on to every word that came out of my mouth. Boy, I hated attention. "And?" Macey pushed.

"Verbatim?" I asked.

"No!" Liz shouted. "Just continue!"

"Okay." I took a breath; not exactly deep. "I knew by the tone of the voices that they were obviously my mom and Solomon. They were whispering about a school, Blackthorne. I made the connection easily: Gallagher _Girls_, Blackthorne _Boys_." I opened my eyes.

Liz gasped, Bex's eyes widened until they looked like alien saucers, but Macey just slowly muttered, "For … spies? Like us?"

"I don't know, Mace," I admitted. "But they do have a school cover like we do. Gallagher is like a snooty boarding school for heiresses, and Blackthorne is … kinda like … well, I'm guessing it's like a prison. They're trained to … I don't know, but I think they're trained to kill." I paused for a second or two. "And they're coming _here_. _To Gallagher_.

"No," Liz started.

"Freaking," Bex continued.

"Way," Macey finished.

But I nodded. "Yes way. But only about forty or fifty are coming, not the whole school." Liz breathed a small sigh of relief, while Bex pouted a little.

"And you got all of this from that one conversation?" Macey exclaimed. "Because there is _no way_ your mom and Solomon would be that … _public_!"

"I never said that I didn't do any research," I nonchalantly said.

"When are they … y'know, coming?" Liz whispered, being the ever so worried one. Maybe she thinks that there's going to be some competition for her on who's the smartest.

"Tuesday at four o'clock pm."

"Where would they be sleeping?" Macey asked.

"No idea."

Bex broke out into a huge smile. "Well, then, I already know what our plans are tonight: we're gonna find out where they're sleeping." Her grin faltered a bit. "It's only Sunday. And we have CoveOps tomorrow. Which means we get to see Solomon. Which means he's going to be harsh on us, probably. But … I can't wait for Tuesday."

Macey rolled her eyes. "Yes, _Rebecca_, Tuesday will probably be the best day of your life."

But Bex didn't even glance her way, let alone notice that Macey had just used her full first name.

_Boys_, I thought to myself. _Why boys_?

"For experience?" Liz guessed, as if she'd read my mind. And trust me, she totally could have. She already has photographic memory.

"I wonder how hot they'll be…" Bex mumbled. She seemed to realize that she'd said that out loud, and then she blushed. "I mean, I just can't wait 'til Tuesday. At four o'clock in the afternoon."

* * *

><p><span>September 4, Monday<span>

Sublevel One

We were all seated. And Joe Solomon, wasn't in the room. _What the heck_? I wondered.

"Where can he be?" Liz asked nervously.

(Yeah, Liz is back in CoveOps.)

"Don't worry, Liz," Macey said soothingly, calming the hyperventilating girl down. "He _will_ be here."

(And Macey is officially in CoveOps, too.)

Fifteen minutes. Fifteen very valuable minutes were wasted. Then, Joe Solomon finally walked through the door, hair damp and shirt obviously ironed. Ever since he's started here, he's never been late. He's never wasted time. He's never allowed Tina Walters to blurt out, "Were you late because you were out with someone? Preferably a girl?"

Most importantly, we've never seen him smile.

Up until now.

He did. Joe Solomon actually smiled. Yes, actual _smile-age_.

Anna Fetterman's jaw dropped, Eva Alvarez's eyes widened, Kim Lee gasped, and Macey just said, "So? Was there girl trouble or what?"

"No, Ms. McHenry. I'm afraid there wasn't, but if I _do_ have any girl trouble anytime in the nearby future, I'll be sure to come to you girls. I'm sure you're all brilliant." He paused. "But I did stay up a tad too late." He rubbed his hands together excitedly. "Who's ready for our lesson today?"

* * *

><p>We were all changed into normal clothes (a.k.a. clothes that <em>aren't<em> our uniforms).

A cold breeze hit our faces as we dashed out the front doors of our school.

And a helicopter was waiting for us. The pilot? _My mom_. She's also the headmistress of Gallagher. And then everyone just has to go ahead and think that just because I'm The Headmistress' daughter, it means I have absolute access to whatever. They think I'm in the loop. Well, heck, I'm really _not_.

Her (my mom) face was beaming with happiness as she said, "Come on in, girls. We have a place to be."

We climbed in, one by one, and I was the last to enter.

I had a pretty good idea of why Mr. Solomon had blindfolds in his hand, but I didn't really want to think about it.

"Okay, ladies," he said as soon as I sat down, immediately talking in his teacher mode. "We're talking a little field trip." He gave the blindfolds to Tina, who took one and then started to pass them around. "I'm pretty sure you girls know what to do."

He sat down in the vacant seat next to me. "Your blindfold, Ms. Morgan."

And then I put it on.

We started rising higher and higher. I just wanted to rip the stupid thing off my eyes and see where we were heading, but I didn't. Liz kept gripping my arm _so hard_, I had to pry myself out of her little (but definitely strong) hands.

I could hear Macey's humming across from me, and Bex's snoring. Even Anna's whispered, "Oh my god, we are going to die."

I could practically feel Mr. Solomon's eyes on each and every one of us; feel him becoming more serious as the seconds ticked by.

And then he made a lecture, ending with, "This is an op, ladies. No need to worry; nothing serious will happen. You just need to know that when you're actually _out there_, it's not going to be easy like this. Except this op shouldn't be easy for you."

I felt us descending lower and lower until we hit solid ground.

"All ten of you will be out there in Roseville Square. All of you will be tailed by very good spies. And I _do_ expect all of you to meet me in the place where Ms. Sutton loves it the most by five o'clock this evening. Split up into five teams of two. Good luck, girls."

I ripped up my blindfold, and they followed my action. Mr. Solomon opened up the door. "Like I said, ladies, if this is hard, it's supposed to be."

We all stepped out of the helicopter and watched it start to rise until it was just a tiny speck in the sky. Then we noticed our surroundings.

They (meaning my mom and Solomon) left us in front of an old abandoned house, by the looks of it.

But not in the middle of nowhere, if you know what I mean. There was a little path.

It seemed like a really bad idea, but we followed it. We didn't have to, though. All of us knew how to get to Roseville Square no matter where we were, whether it was in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, or just a street away. This was just one of those times where we chose to be more cautious than usual.

I immediately paired up with Bex. Liz and Macey looked at each other and nodded.

In no time at all, we had reached Roseville Town Square. As we all wandered off in two, I hesitated. Solomon had said that this op was hard. Or, well, _supposed_ to be.

But if was peacefully calm (excluding the fact that it was a Monday) with couples strolling around, holding hands, loving the fact that there weren't any little kids running around and screaming for once.

I mean, it's not like I had expected buff men or toned ladies, but Solomon said we'd be tailed by good spies; very good spies.

It just seemed … _odd_.

Bex and I crossed the street and headed toward the Abrams and Son Pharmacy.

I hadn't been this close to anything that reminded me of Josh Adamson Abrams until now. "We have an hour and twelve minutes until it's five," Courtney Bauer's amazingly high-pitched (yet soothing) voice rang in my ear.

I turned, half expecting Courtney to be there walking with Mick Morrison, but then I remembered we all had comms unit. "Roger that," Bex replied.

We walked past the mall. The park benches. The man standing behind a stand yelling, "Hot dogs for two bucks! By one, get a free drink!" And we walked in silence.

I was reminiscing everything about Josh and I, and Bex knew that. The memories bombarded me so fast I felt like screaming and ripping my hair out (although, I admit, that wouldn't be such a pretty sight).

"It's _okay_ if you miss him, y'know," Bex cautiously whispered to me.

"It is?" I asked as we entered the pharmacy.

We stopped by a rack of magazines and we pretended to read.

"Well, yeah," Bex sighed, confidence creeping into her voice. "I mean, he was your first … well, theoretically speaking, everything." When I nodded, she continued. "Your first boyfriend, your first kiss … and it seems like he was even your first … love." She looked like she almost regretted saying that last part.

_Almost_.

I took my eyes off of the article I was reading (which was about theology and monkeys, although I have no idea how they went together) and focused on Bex.

Her eyes were clearly avoiding mine as I whisper-screeched, "Excuse me?"

All of my attention was on Bex, so I _didn't_ notice two boys walk in and head over to the ice-cream section of the pharmacy.

I _didn't_ hear Mr. Abrams join them at the counter and say, "What could I get you two fine men today?"

Which means that I _didn't_ notice Mr. Abrams give an ice-cream cone (with two scoops of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, I should add) to one of the boys, and spot me.

I had only realized it too late.

"Why, if it isn't Cammie!" The man behind the counter bellowed and let out a good-natured, hearty laugh. He beckoned me to go closer to him, and I really couldn't object, so I did.

[Thank God Bex followed!]

"My, haven't you grown! And you've gotten prettier, too!" I blushed.

The two boys with ice-cream realized they weren't part of the conversation, and they moved to a rack of sunglasses, undoubtedly eavesdropping.

"Thank you, Mr. Abrams," I shyly replied. "This is my friend, Rebecca."

She shot me a look, but shook hands with Mr. Abrams. "It's nice to meet you, sir," she said in her American voice.

"Pleasure's all mine, Rebecca. Please _do _call me Jacob." He genuinely smiled. "Would you two like anything? It's on the house."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Bex slightly nod, and I knew that was her way of saying yes. But I couldn't. It's just weird walking into your ex-boyfriend's dad's pharmacy, but it's even weirder when your ex-boyfriend's dad spots you, tells you that you've gotten prettier than when he's last seen you, and offers you _free_ ice cream.

As if you _didn't_ break his son's heart.

"Oh no, sir –" I started, but he cut me off.

"Jacob; you can call me Jacob." And he smiled at me.

Then I felt extremely bad. "It's okay, s–Jacob," Bex said. Mr. Abrams tore his gaze away from me to look at Bex. "We should get going. But thank you for the offer!" She grabbed my wrist and rushed us to the door. I gave him a small smile and a wave.

"Cammie, wait!" He called out. The sound of his voice made it clear that he needed to say something important. Apparently Bex thought so too, or she wouldn't have stopped short and turned around, interest obviously displayed on her face. I turned my head, signaling him to continue.

"I really shouldn't be telling you this, you know, but … you made Josh happy. I know he doesn't want to take over the family business, but when he was with you, he didn't care because he was genuinely happy. Happy with _you_, Cammie. He misses you a lot, I can tell; we can _all_ tell. Even _Dillon_ can tell." Mr. Abrams gulped. "we all know you had to break it off with Josh for your religious purposes, but you can always come in sometimes and talk to him, if you want, okay, Cammie?"

I nodded, unable to trust my voice. But eventually I said, "I'll visit him soon, Jacob. That's a promise. And thank you for telling me that." My internal clock told me that we had ten minutes and seven seconds to get to the library. It would take us at least fifteen to get there. We said one goodbye to Mr. Abrams, and sprinted out of the pharmacy. Bex and I agreed on splitting up just in case we had a tail. As I speed-walked past all the bookstores and shopping stores, the man at the hotdog stand, the fountain, and the park benches, I heard faint footsteps following after me.

Assuming it was Bex, I just kept on going, but it was a few seconds later that I realized that Bex would've caught up with me or called my name or acknowledge me somehow. So when my follower didn't do any of that, I took an unexpected turn to the right, straight into a dark alleyway.

And of course, my follower … well, _followed_ me.

It only turned out to be one of the boys from the pharmacy. So I put my back against a brick building and slid down until my butt hit the solid ground. Seven minutes and forty-two seconds left until five. I had barely a minute to shake this guy.

I put my head in my hands, pretending to be scared and sad. Apparently it worked because the guy sat down next to me.

"What's wrong?" The guy asked in a concerned voice.

"I'd answer your question, but I'm not supposed to talk to strangers."

Stranger-dude looked at me and chuckled. "You're talking to me, aren't you?"

I didn't answer. I was running out of time.

He stuck out his hand. "I'm Zach." I turned to look at him , memorizing every detail about him: broad shoulders, sparkling emerald eyes, shaggy dark brown hair, and a smirk plastered right in the _smack-dab_ _middle_ of his face (well, maybe not the _middle_, but where his mouth should be).

I shook his hand. "And I'm Elizabeth."

Zach scoffed. "I heard the guy in the pharmacy call you Cammie."

"Oh, so you're an eavesdropper, are you?" I teased. "No, no. Cammie is my middle name. I don't really like my first name. Well, it's actually Cameron. Elizabeth Cameron. _Ugh_. It sounds so … _official_. Five minutes and nineteen seconds. I took out my 'phone' (really, it was just a prop) and 'checked' the time.

I sighed and got up. "Well, I gotta go. It was nice meeting you, Zach."

Heading back the way I entered the alleyway, I turned back at the opening and waved to Zach. He waved back and I was relieved to see that he was still sitting down, and that he hasn't gotten back up.

Then I officially left the alleyway and sprinted towards the library.

* * *

><p><strong>Good? Bad? Boring? Just plain weird?<strong>

**Would it be too much to ask for your feedback and for you to leave a review?**

**If not, I appreciate it!**


End file.
